Maybe Sunderland fans and Quinne should do a duet of the Sinatra song like Bono and Sinatra did.Originally Posted by stampp
By, but there are some cynical lads on here!
It's not like Niall has just suddenly arrived and charmed us all with his Irish blarney. The relationship has been on-going for a long time - we've 'lived together' many years before settling down...
It was several years ago, long before any thoughts of a takeover when he said, despite spells at Arsenal and Man City, that is was Sunderland that 'got under his skin'.
In Trap we trust
Maybe that's the bit I have been missing in this discussion? Maybe many people in Ireland think that his involvement was simply a business decision, therefore why not make a business decision to invest in an Irish club instead? If so, then I believe that does miss the point - I really think this is a personal involvement in one particular club.
I have to say I've always admired Quinn from afar. He is a very lucky man in that he gets to pursue challenges most of us only dream of aka his interest in the bloodstock industry and his chairmanship of a large football club. He seems to be a very ordinary, affable guy. He is without doubt a great ambassador for Ireland and football in general. He puts his money where his mouth is. He is probably a bit naive compared to some of his piers but I won't knock him for that, as thats not a particularly bad thing to be accused of. He has always served his country well and deserves to persue any interest he cares to. I don't see people here demanding Keane comes back and manages Cobh instead of plying his trade with an English club. In time I think Quinn may well eventually end up in Delaney's job. It might be 10 years away but I think he would be ideal for the job.
Always look on the bright side of life
I think people like their heroes to have a bit of an edge. Rock stars need to have drink or drug problems, or you need to be like Paul McGrath, Roy Keane etc.
Quinn is a straight-down-the-middle guy and hence that's why he's not as popular as he could be at home I reckon. The fact that he's "one of us" just attracts extra scrutiny too.
Bono can be a bit of a **** alright, but Quinn's just a regular guy who's done well and is articulate and well mannered. His affection for Sunderland is obvious. He says Arsenal and City will always be in his affections but Sunderland was always the club that he really loved. Fair play to him in that regard.
I'd still love to see new Irish money being invested at home. I mean this guy Darragh MacAnthony buying Peterborough - what's that all about? Real estate or football?
I think he just liked the TV show
Last edited by galwayhoop; 19/04/2007 at 1:46 PM.
For those who may be interested, with all the Irish connections that exist just now:
The tour, sponsored by Irish airline Aer Arann, who will fly the team during the tour, sees Roy Keane's side take on Bohemians, Cork City and Galway United in a week-long stay in Ireland.
The games take place as follows:
* Saturday July 28 2007, Bohemians FC v Sunderland AFC (7.45pm kick-off)
* Monday July 30 2007, Cork City FC v Sunderland AFC (7.45pm kick-off)
* Wednesday August 1 2007, Galway United FC v Sunderland AFC (8.00pm kick-off)
CCFC have told Sunderland fans to contact their club for tickets.
Some hope.
City definetly have the best bands playing at half-time.
O'Bama - "Eerah yeah, I'd say we can alright!"
G.O'Mahoney Trapattoni'll sort ém out!!
That will be some love-in
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
* Saturday July 28 2007, Bohemians FC v Sunderland AFC (7.45pm kick-off)
Reckon we can take them.
In Trap we trust
Does anybody else think there is a contradiction on this thread in tems of.............
On one hand...
Quinn and his ilk, and all those Premiership teams are a disgrace because they take fans away from Eircom league teams, fans which we need to improve our league.
But on the other hand...
Anybody who would choose to support a foreign team instead of their local side knows nothing about football and we dont want their support anyway?
Why are you so anti-Quinn? That doesnt make sense BohsPartisan. He is one of the few former internationals who gives some of his hard earned cash to EL clubs. Has he not brought the Sunderland over here to play EL clubs thus actually generating revenue for the clubs? Sunderland probably have plans to play pre-season friendlies here and if/when the make the PL, the games will probably sell out and make a nice chunk of money for the EL club.
Whether you like it or not there is huge potential for Sunderland to make money off the backs of football fans here through merchandise or ticket sales. Thats not his fault, surely?
Also like it or not, those Sunderland 'irish' fans are your target audience and are the exact people your club needs to attract to grow!! I sincerely hope the powers that be in your club dont also have the same chip on their shoulder as you or your gonna be left lagging behind.
Last edited by reder; 19/04/2007 at 2:01 PM.
While I am a big fan of Niall Quinns, don't forget that Sunderland are charging a hefty appearance fee to play in these friendlies
Hefty, how does it compare with with the fee they would charge if they decided to play Celtic, Rangers or one of the big euro clubs in a friendly? I'd image its a fraction of what that would be.
I'm sure there coming over here is nothing to do with raising the club's profile here. I'm sure they have the eircom League clubs welfare at heart!!
Your cynicism is in hyperdrive here CB I'm afraid !
Firstly - whilst the Stadium of Light (SOL) is on an approach road into the city and is fairly central, it's not as great a plot of land as you might think. It was a colliery before it became the stadium, and they weren'tt exactly flushed with ideas on what to do with the site. Sunderland actually wanted to build their new stadium elsewhere in the city in the first place anyway. And whilst there is a Metro station there - it's a new station only there because of the Stadium, and it doesn't serve much of a catchment area otherwise.
Secondly - you're making a lazy assumption that any football stadium is ripe for property development. In reality, very few are. The key thing that would make the SOL a poor property proposition is the fact that it is only 10 years old, is extremely modern, has good infrastructural access, was designed specifically so that it can be increased in size quite easily, and is in a relatively isolated little chunk of land (being a former colliery). The usual trick for developers is to distress-purchase the stadium of a struggling club (which Sunderalnd aren't) in a prime bit of land (which SOL isn't) that isn't up to the job or aspirations of the club in terms of capacity, modernity or infrastructure (which SOL is) and then make a case to supporters and planners that it is in the club's interest to move to a new location. Omne where land is dramatically cheaper.
If you tried to suggest to anyone in Sunderland, let alone the local Planning Authority, that the club needed to move out of the SOL you'd be literally laughed at. There are no grounds on which to justify moving the stadium, and as a resuilt it woudl have the support of neitehr fans nor the Planners who have the final say on it.
So there is no property deal to be done there, and to claim there is is just pure cynicism, ungrounded in the reality of the situation there.
Tell me about it.That will be some love-in
Think I'll pass.
Reading game will be more of it.
At least we'll get a few bob.
City definetly have the best bands playing at half-time.
O'Bama - "Eerah yeah, I'd say we can alright!"
G.O'Mahoney Trapattoni'll sort ém out!!
English and Scottish clubs don't visit Ireland out of the goodness of their heart - in some Robin Hood-esque gesture to pump money into the teams they play.
They come purely for self-interest, are usually very well paid for it, and I have no doubt benefit more financially overall from their visits than the Irish clubs who host them do. *
Don't try to paint them out as being heroes for playing friendles, when they're clearly not.
(* Unless, of course, you're a glamour club like Derry City, with the ability to pull in top names like Man U, Celtic, Barcelona and Real Madrid for friendlies at no cost to yourselves.......)
I disagree. They were the type of fan Shelbourne tried to attract and it didn't really work out. Our main target audience are the people who have an allegience to Bohs but don't really bother going to Dalymount much, plus kids to build a fanbase in the future. On top of that you can add anyone else untainted by anti-el prejudice. I am blue in the face trying to convince Premiership fans (most of them, I am well aware many EL fans also follow an English side, me included) but all I get back is quips like "the EL is shoite" and the like. The type of fan that will jump so easilly from one bandwagon to the next is not the type of fan you can build with the future. That was why I made the point about Shels in the deportivo game. 20 odd thousand game out for that one. You could see the creases still on their straight out of the packet Shels jersey. Shels next game was a cup game against Derry I think, the attendance was less than 500.
TO TELL THE TRUTH IS REVOLUTIONARY
The ONLY foot.ie user with a type of logic named after them!
All of this has happened before. All of it will happen again.
Jesus lads keep the talk of this tour down, what with all that was said in the now renamed Niall Quinn thread, Cork, Galway and Bohs could be accused of aiding the scourge of Irish football. And we thought Michael Collins got rid of all the Brit informers all those decades ago
One of the men involved in the Drumaville consortium (and in fact the only man with real money) is Sean Mulryan of Ballymore Properties despite it being denied.
It is not a lazy assumption on my part Steve I have actually heard from people very close to Mulryan that he has plans to develop the land surrounding the stadium.
You, in fact, are assuming that any development would involve the demolition of the SOL, that is quite frankly ridiculous. I have also visited the land myself so no need to bring me up to speed.
The plan will involve a mixed development of residential, retail and office units. Planning is not seen to be an issue given that the area is served by the metro (linking it directly with Newcastle and the airport among other areas) and the road infrastructure as mentioned.
The land surrounding the stadium was one of the primary reasons for the takeover although Mulryan was also influential in Keane agreeing to become manager.
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